Can I Transfer My Loan to Someone Else?

Whether you’ve taken out a loan to pay for a home, a car, a college education, or any other major expense, you obviously needed some financial assistance to make that purchase. But what if you no longer require the loan at some point as a result of a significant improvement in your income? Or what if you’ve been able to find a loan from a different lender at much better terms and a lower interest rate?

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More specifically, what if you were able to find someone willing to take over your loan? Would you be able to transfer it to that person? The answer to this question depends on the exact type of loan you are thinking of transferring, so let’s take a look at a few.

Mortgages

Home loans can be transferred to another individual, which may happen when a home is sold to a new owner. At this point, the mortgage is transferred to the buyer. This scenario is often ideal since the new owner will not have to take out a new mortgage, which may often come with a higher interest rate.

Before the mortgage can be transferred, the contract must stipulate that it can be assumed by someone other than yourself. A mortgage that is “assumable” means that the outstanding balance may be transferred to another individual.

For some information about assumable mortgages and other features you might want to see in your mortgage contract, click here.

In addition, the new owner will still need to get approved for a mortgage, which means the lender will still want to look into the buyer’s credit score, financial history, and income to make sure they’ll be able to make the mortgage payments and be at low risk for default.

If your mortgage is not eligible for transfer from one person to another, you may want to consider refinancing if you’re set on getting rid of it. Refinancing will allow you to take out a new loan in order to pay off your existing home loan and is often done when a lower interest rate can be obtained.

Why do different lenders offer different mortgage rates? Find out here.

Personal Loans

Since personal loans are based on your specific financial health, income, and credit score, they can’t be transferred to someone else. Your lender initially extended the loan to you after assessing your specific financial situation and deciding that you were low-risk enough to be approved for the loan. If the personal loan was transferred to another person, the lender could likely be at risk if the person that the loan is being transferred to has a poor credit score and a sketchy financial history.

The only way that you would be able to get rid of a personal loan is to fully repay it.

Here’s how you can get the best personal loan for you.

Auto Loans

If you want to transfer your car loan to someone else, you have a couple of options to choose from. One way to transfer the loan is to switch lenders who will then extend the credit needed to pay off the rest of the loan balance and a completely new loan would be issued to the other individual. You will likely incur some penalty charges if you take this route and your credit score may even suffer as a result.

Another way to transfer your auto loan that doesn’t require changing lenders is to inform your current lender that someone else will be paying off the remainder of the loan. In this case, the other person would have to undergo the typical financial assessments before they are approved to take over. This tactic will probably cost you less in penalty fees.

Is your car loan worth more than your car? Click here to learn what you can do about it.  

Student Loans

Sometimes parents may want to take over their children’s student loans in order to relieve some of their debt and get it off their credit report. It may be possible to have the student loan transferred, but only if the lender agrees to this arrangement.

How does a student loan affect your credit? Find out here.   

Unfortunately, many lenders will likely not have much incentive to transfer the student loan because these types of loans are typically not dischargeable. If the loan was transferred, the lender could potentially be at an increased risk if the person that the loan is being transferred to defaults on the loan at any point.

Generally speaking, student loans usually aren’t put in someone else’s name aside from refinancing them into a new loan. In order to have the loan placed in someone else’s name, you likely would have to refinance it to another loan. If the new loan in the new person’s name is used to pay off the old loan, it will change the borrower and the terms of the loan.

Final Thoughts

Loans exist for a reason: to help consumers make large financial purchases that their existing finances might not necessarily be able to cover in one lump sum. That being said, you may no longer want or even require your loan at some point in the future if your situation changes. In this case, you will have to look into whether or not your specific type of loan can be transferred to someone else if you’re able to find a willing taker.

What you need to do is speak with an experienced loan specialist or financial advisor who will be able to inform you whether or not your loan can be transferred, and if so, guide you through the transfer process so that you come out on the other side with minimal penalties incurred.